Tuesday, Jul 26, 2011

'Asian Treasures: Gems of the Written Word' - a Conversation with Andrew Gosling Many of the National Library of Australia's oldest, rarest and most beautiful works come from Asia. 'Asian Treasures: Gems of the Written Word' is the Library's first full-length book devoted to its holdings from the region. It describes 40 precious pieces selected on the theme of Asian writing, books and printing. This publication explores a variety of individual yet connected writing traditions. It shows the close relationship between religious and philosophical ideas with the written or printed word. 'Asian Treasures' covers items from Iran to Japan. It includes palm-leaf texts from Sri Lanka and Bali; magic writings on bark from Sumatra; colourful Thai and Persian manuscripts; a letter from a Manchu prince and a magnificent collection of handmade Japanese papers. The description for each item includes its significance; how, why and when it was published, and the often fascinating story of how it came to the Library. Each entry is lavishly illustrated in colour. The oldest printed work in the Library is a Chinese volume dated 1162. There are Burmese Buddhist scriptures created from marble rubbings in Mandalay; and a huge world map in Chinese printed on silk. Two Japanese periodicals rank among the Library's most beautiful titles. They are 'Kokka', Japan's first art journal and 'Kogei', on arts and crafts. Dr Ian Proudfoot has commented that this book shows 'the extraordinary range and beauty of Asian holdings at the National Library'. The author, Andrew Gosling, will discuss 'Asian Treasures' with Sally Burdon of Asia Bookroom. Andrew spent 30 years on the staff of the National Library. After serving as the Library's Indonesian Acquisition Librarian based in Jakarta he was Chief Librarian, Asian Collections from 1985 to 2003. He has written extensively on Asian library topics.